Toronto Maple Leafs player Alexander Ponikarovsky signed a one year agreement with the NHL club.

Talent Analysis:

Alexei Ponikarovsky is blessed with a solid NHL sized frame, and also possesses an versatile arsenal of skills to complement it. At 6’4 and 196 pounds, Alexei Ponikarovsky is very difficult to force off the puck or away from in front of the opponent’s net. When drafted out of Russia, the Kiev, Ukraine native was largely a mystery to anybody in North America. Now he is sixth on www.hockeysfuture.com’s Toronto Maple Leafs’ prospect overall depth chart. He is a product of the Dynamo Moscow system and did not received much exposure due to the depth and power of that team during his development, as Dynamo Moscow bristled highly touted prospects like Andrei Markov and Maxim Afinogenov.

Back In Russia:

The Dynamo Moscow’s coaches noticed his abilities, and invited him from Kiev into their program. Alexei played for Dynamo 2 and Dynamo Jr., farm teams during 95-99 campaigns, seeing a little action with the main club during the 98-99 season and finally becoming a fixture on the team during the 99-00 season when Dynamo won the Russian Super League Championship.

NHL Outlook:

Alexei was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 4th round, 87th overall in the 1998 NHL entry draft. Toronto Maple Leafs acquired that draft pick from the Red Wings in the trade of Jamie Macoun. The selection of Alexei, now considered one of Toronto Maple Leaf’s most exciting prospects, suddenly justifies the otherwise seemingly one sided trade. Alexei performed very well at his first training camp in North America during the 2000 summer and has been one of the best players with Toronto’s AHL farm team, the St. John’s Maple Leafs. Alexei has been used in all situations, including power plays and penalty kills. His great all around performance makes him a probable permanent addition to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ roster during the 03-04 season, after a couple of seasons of part time duty.